


Another Lost Connection

by Polly_Phemus (orphan_account)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Hunters & Hunting, Post-Stanford, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-03 14:45:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11534418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Polly_Phemus
Summary: Sam loses one more connection to Stanford...good thing it was basically just a higher education in-joke.Takes place just before "Scarecrow," or early in April, 2006.  Rated Teen for language.





	Another Lost Connection

"Damnit," Sam said to his laptop, slamming it shut forcefully.

"What's wrong? Bangablenuns.com down again?" Dean leered.

"Jerk," Sam said automatically, still bitchfacing at his laptop.

"Bitch," Dean said. "What's got your panties all bunched up and chafing you? Do we need to get you some Monistat? Or is it more of a Pamprin type of situation?"

"Nah," Sam sighed without rising to the bait. "It's just...another Stanford connection, gone."

"Leland Stanford Junior Drinking Farm's not the only place where beer makes you wanna a cheer and gin makes you wanna sin."

Sam stared at Dean.

"Told ya...Dad was really proud of having a son at Stanford," Dean said, looking at anything that wasn't his brother.

"Wow...I guess I...wow," Sam finished, weakly. "But this isn't about that."

"What's it about, then?" Dean asked, taking a pull from his beer.

"There's this thing on a few colleges, a way to connect electronically with students who share your interests. Started out of Harvard, spread to MIT, Stanford, and on from there. Called Facebook."

"How's it work?"

"You create a profile, what school you go to, what you're studying, stuff you like, and then you friend people you already know or who share your interests."

"You...friend...people?"

"Yeah, 'friend' is a verb. You indicate that you're their friend and then they say, yeah, they're your friend, too. Although 'acquaintance' would probably be more like it. Or 'person I wanna hook up with.' And you can share stuff from the web or write about what's going on in your life if you want. Not that I've been doing much of that, lately, but sometimes I like to see what people are up to."

"And they took away your account?"

"You have to have an active e-mail account from a college or university to use it, and I don't have that anymore."

"Oh," Dean said. He really didn't get what Sam was upset about, unless this was one of those "wah, my life is over" things. Sam had a lot of those lately. Dean occasionally felt sympathetic, but some days that was harder than others.

"Wait...similar interests? And you can write about stuff that happens to you?"

"As I said," Sammy said, getting a bit bitchy.

"Like...if some really freaky shit happens, you could write about how you think your dorm is haunted? And people would be able to see it and say if they had the same shit going down with them?" Dean leaned forward intently.

"Yeah...." Sam drawled the word out slowly.

"And could you keep track of when people wrote about that kind of thing? _Our_ kind of thing?"

Sam looked thoughtful. "Yeah, I guess you could, if you did some searching."

"That could be really fuckin' useful, Sammy," Dean said. Sam didn't object to the nickname.

"I guess," he said. "But it's just some colleges and universities in the US and Canada. Oh, wait, I guess it went to overseas schools just before...."

"Oh," Dean said, collapsing back in his chair, pulling on his beer. "Too bad." He scoffed. "Not that you'd ever get hunters to join something like that, but it could be damn useful."

"That door is closed," Sam said firmly.

So Dean let it go. Seemed a shame; something like that might've come in handy.

**Author's Note:**

> Stanford got access to Facebook in March, 2004, along with several other schools (my small New England college had it by mid-2004). In October, 2005, some colleges and universities outside the US and Canada also got access; Sam apparently missed that some high schools also had by-invitation access as early as September, 2005. About six months after this conversation took place, in late September, 2006, Facebook became available to anyone thirteen or older who had their own e-mail address, .edu or otherwise.
> 
> According to the Supernatural Wiki, Dean mentioned Facebook in "Changing Channels," so it exists in their universe, too. (I vaguely remember mentions of fictitious social networking sites, too, but I don't remember the particulars or if hunters really embraced them as a resource.)
> 
> I figured April, 2006 wasn't an unreasonable time for the Stanford bursar's office to arrange with IT to deactivate his e-mail.


End file.
